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Hi All, I'm currently doing a makeover on my garage and the old concrete floor is a bit rough on the surface, so it needs smoothing over before I lay some vinyl over it. I was going to buy some flooring compound, but I've got a few bags of sand and cement lying around which will otherwise go...

Hi All, I've got a 1960's bungalow which I'm planning to build a first-floor extension of timber frame construction in a couple of years' time. So, I've started doing some preliminary drawings and research before I involve a timber frame designer... I'm wondering if anyone here can answer a...

Hi All, I've built a small retaining wall in my garden (approx 10m2) from blockwork which I would like rendered to match in with my house. Trouble is, it's proving quite difficult to get anyone interested in such a small job, particularly at this time of year. I thought about having a go...

I've checked the wiki and there's nothing in there for wiring up modular sockets and switches. I want to replace some ugly 2g FCUs with modular units housing a 13a outlet and a switch for the sockets supplying my integrated appliances. The existing FCUs are in-circuit with a spur off to an...

Right, time for my second electrical question of the day.. I'm wiring up my new extension for a kitchen and I need to put in a 13A supply for a gas hob - I've placed a 32A socket for an extractor hood as part of my general power circuit and it's the nearest source to where I'll need to place...

Hi, I was just wondering if you knowledgable folks would be able to check that what I'm planning to do for my oven supplies is correct... I'm fitting 2x3.5kw ovens side-by-side and am planning to supply them as follows; 40A MCB > 6mm twin and earth > 20A cooker switch > oven connector &...

Hi, Haven't been on here for a while (mainly because I've been busy). This may be better posted in the DIY Disasters forum, but I'm hoping you experienced chaps might be able to help me find a solution. Basically I've dropped a massive *******, by building the structural opening for my...

Hi All, Not been on here for a while, been cracking on with the house refurb and I'm about to start tiling the roof of the extension. I've got these tiles, laying on a monopitch roof at 17 degrees. The roof has had monaperm fixed to the rafters and batten fixed at 250mm centres. A...

Hi All, Finally got the roof structure finished and I'm ready to start felting, lathing and tiling. My pitch is quite shallow at 15 degrees and I did read somewhere that you should use a 1F underlay with shallow pitches, rather than a breathable membrane. If this is the case, does that...

Hi, I'm about to start building a soak away at the bottom of my garden because; A) my garden keeps flooding when it rains (clay soil) and takes a day or two to clear B) I'm building an extension which BC will likely say needs surface water to drain to a soak away I just wanted to run...

Hi, I'm redecorating an old room and having trouble with painting the ceiling. I've stripped wallpaper off the ceiling (probably 1970's) and painted a primer coat (50/50 emulsion and PVA). When I've done the second coat, the base coat is peeling off like soggy paper and exposing the...

Hi All, Just after some quick help please. I've hung a new radiator on the wall and it's got some plastic plugs in the connection points for the valves. They look like they've been powder coated over and when I try to undo them with a screwdriver, they're just rounding off. Does anyone...

I've got a large heavy rediator (2000x600 double panel) to fix to a wall which has been dot & dab plasterboarded. What sort of fixings should I use? If I can locate a dab, would a the usual method ow screw/wall plug be suitable? Thanks in advance.

Help please... I'm burying all my CH Pipework in my walls, so have connected onto existing copper pipework under floorboards and fed Pipework into channels in my walls. Before I cover up my connections, I thought I should check them so ran some water around the system and water has ****ed out...

Hi all, I'll soon be starting to fit my new bathroom, I've ripped out the old suite and pulled all of the old plaster/plasterboard off the walls. Where I've got external walls (3no.) they're either brick or block. On my stud walls, I'll fix plyboard to this area and PVA it before tiling...

Hi, I'm about to fit a new shower room and want to ply-board the walls and floor of the room before tiling. The walls are made up of both studwork, brickwork and blockwork. Where it's studwork, I'll fix the board using screws, but I'm not sure how to fix the board to brickwork/blockwork...

Hi all, I'm refurbishing a house and have had my gas and water shut off at the mains for a couple of months now. I've just finished running all my CH Pipework and want to test it before it gets covered over with flooring or plaster, so I've linked some spare pipe across all the...

I've got a structural opening which is 78" from FFL to the underside of the lintel. I want to fit a door/frame into it, but a carpenter I know said that an opening for a door set should 80" to allow an inch at the top and at the bottom for the floor covering and the door frame. Basically, my...

I'm sure this question has been asked a lot, but I can't seem to find the answer to either of my questions.... 1. Fixing plasterboard to bare brick. Am I better to dot & dab, or fix it to battens? Dot & dabbing seems to be the more common choice, but I think I'd personally get a better finish...

Hi All, Fitting some backboxes ahead of getting some new sockets wired in and I can't find anything trustworthy online to say if there is a minimum height which the sockets should be mounted at. It's a 1930's property which was re-wired in around 2005. Currently the sockets are mounted at...